A brother like me is yet to ever live in a house with a garage, but every now and then I at least get to drive some pretty nice and honestly, not so nice cars. Perhaps you’re considering one of the models for you and your family and I hope to help give you a few things to think about when you hit the dealership.

First up: Lexus LS 460 F-Sport AWD

Competition: Mercedes-Benz S-CLASS S550; BMW 7 Series 750i xDrive Sedan; Audi A8 4.0T Sedan L quattro Tiptronic

Price: MSRP Including Delivery  Charges: $85,945

Engine: 4.6L V8

Transmission: 8-speed AT

Horsepower at RPM: 360@6400

Torque @ RPM: 347@4100

EPA Fuel Economy Ratings (city/highway/combined): 16/23/18mpg

Loved:

• Interior room big enough to fit 2-3 of your teenage boys in the back seat
• Sound system that is so good, those boys will be glad they are riding with dad
• Smooth ride that is adjustable at the turn of a dial

Liked:

• Car is “sneaky-fast”, so it’s scooting pretty well big feels slower because of it’s size
• Vehicle that’s understated enough not to draw too much attention yet the front grill still lets people know you’re in an expensive Lexus if you want to flaunt like the 1980’s.
• Almost impossible to be uncomfortable in seats that go every which way and are heated and ventilated. Also, the 2nd row is heated and adjustable as well!

Dislikes:

• The wheels aren’t bad, but I’d prefer a better look nor would I want to clean them at my local coin car wash
• While quick, I thought the F-Sport name came with more neck-snapping power instead of parking lot scrubbing ground-effects.

“Look in the driveway rating” (1: Tow it please – 10: I look out the window just to see how beautiful it is):

• 7: It’s a Lexus, so it’s understated but it looks pretty good in F-Sport trim

Overall rating, is it a/an

• “I Need An Econ-o-Ride?”
• “Dad’s Driving What He Has To Drive During The Kid Years”
• “‘Mid-Life Crisis’-mobile”
• “Dad Has Hit His Stride”?

Needless-to-say, the Lexus LS 460 F-Sport gets the “Dad Has Hit His Stride” rating. At its price-point, Dave Ramsey would not approve of a dad driving this on credit and to pay cash, you certainly have to be strong in your money-making years and have a retirement account with plenty of zeros showing in your balance.

We’ll see how it stacks up against more competition in 2014!

CSD